The present invention relates to an improved lacrosse stick head. The game of lacrosse was developed by native Americans perhaps as long ago as close to a millennium ago. Originally, the lacrosse stick was made of materials including wood. In recent years, synthetic materials and composites have been employed in manufacturing the various components of a lacrosse stick. Into the 1970s, the head of the stick was still being made out of wood. More recently, materials such as molded plastic have been employed in manufacturing the head of the stick which is otherwise referred to as the “crosse.”
Since plastic was introduced as the key material for a lacrosse head, the most significant advancement made has been the introduction of the off-set head. While this off-set curved head has advanced the game in several respects, it certainly does not most effectively achieve the results desired by a lacrosse player carrying a stick with such a head.
Curved heads such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,568,925 (the '925 patent), issued Oct. 29, 1996, to Morrow et al., and assigned to Warrior Lacrosse, Inc., are designed to help the ball sit deep into a pocket created by webbing when the ball is cradled and being handled. The '925 patent was reissued on Aug. 12, 2003, as U.S. Pat. No. RE 38,216. Such a head creates a spoon-like shape. However, Applicants have discovered that such a head actually decreases the effectiveness of a player when passing and shooting. While the head curvature provides an increased feel for the ball when the ball is being cradled and handled, its particular configuration forces a player to alter their natural throwing motion to compensate for the particular characteristics of the head. To compensate for the head design, players often must throw “lob” passes rather than throwing crisp, hard passes to a teammate. As a result, it is difficult for a lacrosse team to whip the ball around the attack zone in an attempt to find an open shot and it is equally difficult for a team to throw crisp passes in an effort to clear the ball against an aggressive opponent.
An additional aspect concerning lacrosse heads currently known is that players are always trying to find ways to increase their ability to retain the ball within the webbing of the head when being challenged by an opponent. Players are continually seeking new ways to string their lacrosse heads within the rules of the game to legally facilitate enhanced hold of the ball within the webbing of the stick head. Stringing used to create the webbing typically consists of Nylon or other woven material laced onto the head using peripheral holes provided so that an area is created for the ball to be received and handled during play. By stringing the webbing strings tighter, a barrier may be created to prevent the ball from being easily dislodged from the scoop portion of the head. Often, the stringing process confronts compromises between enhancing the ability to retain the ball within the webbing, the ability to pass, and the ability to shoot. These three aspects are quite subjective in nature and some players seek to string their lacrosse heads to enhance one or the other of these factors.
Some players are stringing their stick heads in an attempt to cause the ball to be retained closer to the distal end of the stick. While this enhances shooting ability, it reduces ball retention. Such a stringing creates what is known as a “high pocket” as compared to a mid-pocket or a low pocket closer to the location where the handle is attached to the head of a lacrosse stick. As should be evident, it would be advantageous for there to be a lacrosse stick head which enhances the abilities to retain the ball within the head, accurately and crisply pass it to a teammate, and accurately and strongly shoot the ball to the goal.
The '925 patent, later reissued, discloses a lacrosse head which is illustrated herein in FIG. 1 (which corresponds to FIG. 6 in the '925 patent and its reissue). In particular, the head 22 includes a socket 40 designed to receive a handle and having an axis of elongation 42. The plane 48 shown in FIG. 1 is parallel to the axis 42. The head has front side edges 46 and back side edges 50 as shown. These edges 46 and 50 curve downwardly in the proximal to distal direction until they reach a lowermost extent at approximately the location of the double-headed arrow 52, whereupon they reverse course in parallel fashion and begin to ascend, whereupon, the front side edges 46 cross over the plane 48 and then curve downwardly again to terminate at the distal end surface 60. The back side edges 50 travel in parallel fashion to the front side edges 46 until approximately the location where the front side edges 46 cross the plane 48, at which point the back side edges 50 begin to converge with the front side edges and then curve back to arrive at the surface 60 at the distal end of the head. This configuration creates a spoon-like structure and, when webbing is attached to the head 22 using the holes 38, a pocket is provided having its lowermost location approximately below the location of the double-headed arrow 52 which is well proximal of the lip surface 64 at the distal end of the stick. This may be best characterized as a mid/low pocket configuration. Applicants have found that this configuration of stick head includes all of the deficiencies described above concerning, particularly, the inability to strike an advantageous compromise between retention of the ball within the head, the ability to crisply pass the ball, and the ability to accurately and strongly shoot the ball toward the goal.
In designing a lacrosse stick head, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has formulated what it describes as “Crosse Specifications” which are the standard requirements for all lacrosse stick heads (crosses). Those regulations are found in Rule 1 of the Lacrosse Rules, Sections 17-19, and in Appendix IV to those Specifications. The present invention complies with all of those rules and regulations.
It is with these deficiencies in mind that the present invention was developed.